WIZM - La Crosse Talk Interviews

Wisconsin state Assembly Rep. Steve Doyle joined La Crosse Talk on Monday to discuss the Minnesota killer and his hit list that included Wisconsin lawmakers. We also covered the new Democratic Party chair, who got his start working with Doyle, plus an update on rebuilding the Tank Creek Bridge after it was deliberately set on fire. We began the show with Doyle talking about his roles representing...

We drink beer by the ounces and tax it by the gallon. Economist, Dr. Adam Hoffer, with the Tax Foundation, joined La Crosse Talk to discuss Wisconsin's low beer tax, plus colleges now getting or having to pay their athletes. Hoffer, director of excise tax, recently published the beer tax by state across the country for the Tax Foundation. We discuss the stats and if Wisconsin could raise the beer...

La Crosse Schools superintendent, Dr. Aaron Engel, joins to discuss the process of closing three elementary schools, a hiccup in the sale of the Lincoln building and what kind of funding public education is seeing as the state budget is being crafted. We began the show talking quick about how often Engel and neighboring school districts communicate and what they get done with those talks. Then we...

Jean Taylor, host of Rock Mornings, joins to help preview the second annual Big River Rally , which has everything from the Budweiser Clydesdales trotting through downtown La Crosse to Drowning Pool taking the stage on the Oktoberfest grounds. The two-day event happens June 27-28 and features concerts both Friday and Saturday nights, multiple stunt shows by Pat Smage , organized rides through the...

Steve Nicolai , owner of the Maple Grove Venues in West Salem, joins to preview the Stone Temple Pilots coming Saturday night. In talking with Nicolai , he paints a picture of MGV as a backyard BBQ and Stone Temple Pilots just happens to be the band playing, while we're all grilling out, drinking and having a good time. Two bands will precede Stone Temple Pilots — Unlikely Candidates an...

Pump House Executive director Allison Krzych in studio to talk about how everyone can get their hands dirty and their dance on at the 12th Annual Artspire festival happening Saturday at Riverside Park. Artspire is free and happens from 10 a.m. to 7 pm. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, the 70-plus artists, the bands, the Mexican Folk Art Collective and everything else will move into the La C...

Wisconsin state Assembly Rep. Jill Billings in studio for a wide-ranging conversation on state budget talks, UW-L and other legislation in progress, plus some potential PFAS relief for the Town of Campbell. We began the show, though, with what all state reps are obligated to do and give a shoutout to June Dairy Days, before diving into talk about state budget negotiations stalling between Gov. Ton...

Terry Bauer, co-founder of Moon Tunes, in the WIZM studio to recap how the season-opener went and do a bit of a preview of Week 2 featuring Double Take and Secret Menu. This is the 14th season of the Riverside Park concert series that runs from 5:30-8 p.m.  Double Take will play 80s-2000 classic pop rock, while Secret Menu is described as genre-blending alternative rock.  Moon Tunes...

Brothers O.D. and Baer Brundage stopped in the WIZM studio Tuesday to help preview this weekend's Big Bad Musical — the sequel to the Three Little Pigs. It's part of the La Crosse Community Theatre's Penguin Project, which pairs kids with disabilities and other kids in these productions, where together they learn their lines, movements and how to have fun being on stage.  Now, the Big B...

La Crosse Schools superintendent, Dr. Aaron Engel, joins to give an update on building a new elementary school and what the district does over summer — including teacher contracts and classes.  The La Crosse city council is about to vote on some zoning changes to allow for the demolition of the Hogan Administrative site. Engel talks about that process and how the parking lot there is st...

La Crosse City Council president, Tamra Dickinson, in the WIZM studio for La Crosse Talk on details in potentially doubling residents’ stormwater utility bill, complaining about traffic and parking, and updates on the tearing down of the Hogan site and hiring a city administrator. The big topic of the show is on the council’s agenda Thursday, where it could vote to double the stormwate...

La Crosse County and 3rd Congressional District Democratic Party chair William Garcia in the WIZM studio for La Crosse Talk last week discussing his run for state chair, thoughts on The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (TOBBA), as well as answering some texts and calls.  The Democratic Party of Wisconsin holds its convention this weekend in Wisconsin Dells where delegates will decide who takes over...

Keeping youth interested in reading over the summer break can be a challenge for parents everywhere.   In the five branches of the La Crosse County Library System, the Summer Library program is underway to help children get engaged and use their curiosity to read more books.   Youth Services Coordinator Dawn Tevis said that they’ve got a variety of activities planned between now an...

The Donald Trump-Elon Musk breakup is underway, and UW-La Crosse political science professor Dr. Anthony Chergosky in studio to explain why Wisconsin could be to blame. Before diving too deep into this, though, we kicked things off with What’s (still) Buried on Brad’s Desk — WIZM’s Brad Williams’ daily feature — who was forced to clean said desk this week, and w...

There's nothing like a good brain workout. 'What's that?' you ask. Well, dementia care specialist Becky Kamrowski stopped in the WIZM studio to tell us. She’s part of La Crosse County’s Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC), which has deemed June as Brain Health & Dementia Awareness Month Kamrowski talks about just what all that means and some of the programs they’ll be...

Wisconsin state Assembly Rep. Tara Johnson in the WIZM studio Monday for La Crosse Talk discussing June dairy days in Wisconsin, supporting small farms, land conservation and how the difficulties in Republicans alone crafting the budget.  Started the show talking about road construction a bit before talking about farming, land conservation and some farm provisions that got stripped by Republi...

If you like donuts, Friday is a good day for you...plus you can help out a local organization.  Fifty cents of each donut sold at Linda's Bakery in West Salem on Friday goes for the support of the Make a House a Home program run by the Salvation Army in La Crosse.   When someone who uses the shelter is able to move into permanent housing, the program provides a "care package" of necessit...

Molly McCormick, community risk educator with La Crosse Fire Department, in studio to discuss the rise in investigative fires, being AED and CPR trained and their recent Mugs for Rugs program. We started there, and a collaboration with the Coulee Region Humane Society, where the fire department collected rugs from homes of seniors because they’re a slip and fall hazard. They have taken those...

Adam Hoffer, director of excise tax policy at the Tax Foundation, joins La Crosse Talk to cover everything from Wisconsin high school athletes profiting off their names, to the state track meet’s economic impact on La Crosse and Illinois passing a sports betting tax hike in the middle of the night. We kick things off with the recent 293-108 vote by Wisconsin athletic directors in favor of al...

Moon Tunes kicks off its 14th summer of free concerts in La Crosse's Riverside Park on Thursday, and co-founder Terry Bauer is in studio talking about how all of this has come together.  Mae Simpson, an award-winning, seven-piece band out of Minneapolis, performing funk, soul and rock & roll is the season-opener. The concerts run 5:30-8 p.m. Bauer highlights some of the bands headed to La...

The La Crosse Community Theatre’s commitment to inclusivity was put to the test recently when unexpected federal funding cuts threatened to cancel a production featuring children with disabilities. The Big Bad Wolf nearly stopped the show, but the La Crosse community rallied, ensuring the Penguin Project would go on. Erik Vose, executive director of the theatre, joined La Crosse Talk Tuesday...

Pickleball — the sport that looks like a friendly mash-up of ping-pong and badminton — is quietly destroying America’s seniors.   Physical therapist Phil Mitchell, co-owner of Mitchell Holistic Health, joined La Crosse Talk to explain why so many people — especially older adults — are winding up injured after what’s supposed to be this fun, low-stress activ...

Lewis Kuhlman, La Crosse’s environmental planner, in studio to discuss the upcoming Solar Power Hour and the city's home energy audit program for low income residents.  The Solar Power Hour happens from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the People's Food Coop, to inform area residents about equipping their homes or small businesses with solar and how to make that cheaper buying as a group. Th...

La Crosse Education Association president Jill Schams joined to talk about getting through one more week before summer, contract negotiations with the district and how the union feels about cellphones in schools. Schams, a music teacher at Southern Bluffs Elementary, gave some details how the union works with the district on contract issues, because the state only allows them to negotiate pay. She...

A.I. just told us it's getting set to take over the world. (this is the lede, not the headline)  UW-La Crosse political science professor Dr. Anthony Chergosky was in the WIZM studio Friday for La Crosse Talk to unpack how a major newspaper’s summer reading list turned into A.I. subtly warning us that The Terminator and Skynet might be just around the corner. We also discuss U.S. Sen. R...